CD Review: Darren Middleton - Tides

When it comes to the Aussie rock bucket list, Powderfinger axeman DarrenMiddleton certainly boasts a fair resume, co-founding one of Australia’s most iconic ‘90s acts and raking in more Hottest 100 votes than KendrickLamar ever could. If his new solo LP Tides is anything to go by, though, he’s not done pushing his creative limits.

On one hand a fusion of SomethingForKate and EskimoJoe, and on the other a sleek, humble little cousin to Jamiroquai, there is a palate as diverse as his entire discography to be found across these ten tracks. With Vika and LindaBull (TheBlackSorrows) lending some beautiful backing vocals to Middleton’s tasteful guitar layering, Tides achieves sonic breadth without feeling overstretched.

In this extra sweet edition of Australian Guitar, we take a deep dive into the weird and wonderful world of Australia’s unforgiving new guitar hero, Tash Sultana.

We also riff on the experimental genius of new-wave prog lord Plini, the ever-growing legacy of The Living End and the game-changing guitar tones of The Amity Affliction – in addition to some quality chats with our mates in Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Diesel, Joe Satriani and Muncie Girls.

Not to mention, we’ve packed #129 with stacks of invaluable guitar and production lessons, more gear reviews than you can hurl an overdrive pedal at, and crisp, comprehensive wrap-ups of the 2018 Melbourne Guitar Show and Splendour In The Grass.